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Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND PROJECT PROPOSAL 1

Community Partnership Assessment and Intervention Proposal: Brazil

University of Aruba

Faculty of Arts and Science

Department of Social Work and Development

Community Empowerment and Popular Methodologies

Course code: ASWD-CC23-11

Year 3, Semester 1

Mid Semester Draft Assessment

Lecturer: M. Marín

Angerica Quandt, 112543

Julienne Duran, 150886

Keyla Reeder, 148539

Marylain Veldman, 150223

Shennelyn Croes, 147788

January 8, 2019

Running Head: Community Assessment and Project Proposal 2

Table of Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Community Assessment of Target Group………………………………………………………... 6

Population Data…………………………………………………………………………... 6

Language and Culture……………………………………………………………………. 7

Education………………………………………………………………………………… 7

Income and Employment………………………………………………………………… 8

Housing…………………………………………………………………………………... 8

Health…………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

Involvement with Social Service Agencies…………………………………………….. 11

Needs Assessment……………………………………………………………………………… 12

Focus Group…………………………………………………………………………….. 13

Focus Group Questions…………………………………………………………………. 13

Project Planning………………………………………………………………………………… 15

Logic Model…………………………………………………………………………………….. 17

Brasil Community Loyalty Program……………………………………………………. 17

Project Objective 1……………………………………………………………………… 18




Community Work Model……………………………………………………………………….. 22

Evaluation of Group Process…………………………………………………………………… 24

Strengths………………………………………………………………………………... 24


Weaknesses……………………………………………………………………………... 25

Learning Outcomes……………………………………………………………………... 25

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 27

References……………………………………………………………………………………… 29


Introduction

The “One Happy Island” of Aruba is divided into a wide range of diverse districts

inhabited by a diverse population. As Social Workers it is essential to not only have the

knowledge, skills and attitude to engage, assess, intervene, plan, implement and review on micro

level such as with individual participants, but also on mezzo and macro level such as

communities, agencies and government institutions. In order to understand and identify the needs

of a community or neighborhood, a needs assessment is necessary to be conducted using

leadership skills, advocacy skills, tactics, Social Work skills and knowledge and critical thinking

skills to analyze and choose the best model of assessment.

The community needs assessment was conducted by a group of third-year students of the

University of Aruba, Social Work and Development: Keyla Reeder, Julienne Duran, Shennelyn

Croes, Marylain Veldman and Angerica Quandt. The district that stood out the most when

analyzing and evaluating the different districts and neighborhoods of Aruba was the

neighborhood of Brasil or as it is called in the Aruban community, Bario di Brasil.

Its major richness in culture, folklore and sports has contributed to Brasil’s own

development throughout centuries of history. Additionally, during the 19th Century, Brasil was

considered to be part of the district of Savaneta together with various other neighborhoods. After

the arrival of the Spaniards in Aruba, Brasil finally emerged as a new populated neighborhood

characterized by its significant amount of logwood trees called, “Haematoxylum brasiletto”

(Maduro, Aruba di Antaño, 1981). This tree not only embodied the name of the Bario di Brasil

but it also gave a different meaning and perspective towards the star of the Aruban National Flag

by providing the stained red color for its star (Historia di Parokia di Brazil, 2010).


In the last 15 years Bario di Brasil developed new inclusive methods to enhance the

population’s well-being and activeness in the community. Such methods were, for example,

religious, educational and social institutions that lead this neighborhood to engage and

participate as a unified community. The enhancement of Bario di Brasil until now and its

inclusive activeness in the Aruban community influenced this community assessment and

intervention paper to the fullest. Engaging in Bario di Brasil and working together with a part of

the neighborhood made the group aware of this community’s contribution to its own population

and the Aruban community. Moreover, this assessment of Bario di Brasil was also inspiring and

interesting in terms of getting to know a whole diverse population of Aruba by exploring their

own culture and folklore.

Through literature research and focus groups with the community members as well as the

volunteer of Centro di Bario di Brasil, we were able to identify the main needs of the community

through a community needs assessment. This paper details the needs of this community and

proposes possible opportunities for interventions as well as recommendations on micro, mezzo

and macro level.


Community Assessment of Target Group

The neighborhood and united community of Brasil is located in what is known as San

Nicolas North according to the Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba. San Nicolas North includes

Rooi Congo, Watapana Gezaag, Rooi Hundo, Kustbatterij, Juana Morto, San Nicolas North and

other and Brasil, which is our target group. We were able to collect data on the housing units,

total population, age, race, education level, income, employment and housing through the 2010

Population and Housing Census which was also the last published census. However due to the

short time span and the size of the neighborhood of Brasil we were unable to collect updated

demographic information by surveying each resident of Brasil.

Population Data

As cited from the Population and Housing Census, 2010, San Nicolas North has a total

population of 10,433 people which is an increase of 2230 residents since 1991 (p.20).

Additionally, we were able to assess the neighborhood demographics including the housing units

which accounted for 3,476 housing units in the year 2010 in San Nicolas North.

In regards to gender, Brasil has a total population of 2522 since the 2010 Census which is

a relative point of 2.5. From the 2522 of the total population, 1900 of the residents are Aruban-

born and 620 are foreign-born. As per gender, 1176 of the population accounts for males and

1347 accounts for females in the neighborhood. It is important and significant to highlight that

since the last conducted Census which was over eight years ago, this number might have

increased over 3000 resident members.

In the following table based on the 2010 census the total population was broken down in

terms of sex and age in order to have a clear overview of the population. The biggest population


group consists of 1697 residents between the (ages of 15 - 64) followed by 570 (ages 0-14); and

252 residents over the age of 65.

Age 0 - 14 Age 15 - 64 Age 65+

Males 290 783 101

Females 280 915 152

Total 570 1697 252 2522

*the numbers displayed are based on the 2010 Population and Housing Census, CBS (2010)

Language and Culture

Most community members in San Nicolas North speaks Papiamento. According to the

2010 Population and Housing Census (CBS, 2010), 6201 respondents indicated that the most

spoken language at home was Papiamento followed by 2243 speaking English. The 2010

Population and Housing Census also revealed that, in the neighborhood of Brasil, a total of 1996

people indicated that the most spoken language at home is Papiamento; 158 Spanish; 50 Dutch

and 215 English as spoken language at home.

Education

In San Nicolas North a total of 2789 people are attending school with a degree of

participation of 26.7. The education system in Aruba is divided in the following level of

programs: Daycare, play school or kindergarten, Primary education, Special education, Lower

vocational education, General education, Higher education


In San Nicolas and Brasil area the following schools are located: Hilario Angela, Fontein

Kleuterschool, St. Michael School, Cristo Rey School, Colegio Hilario Angela, Colegio San

Nicolas, IPA, Augustinus School, Filomena College, Sint Paulus School, Pieter Boer School,

Ibero American High School and the Watty Vos Police Academy. Furthermore, there are a

number of daycares and preschools for children located in the heart of San Nicolas. San Nicolas

North accounts for 8,074 of the population being literate and 278 of the population being

illiterate. In comparison to the other regions in Aruba the literacy rate is relatively low.

At the moment, there is a school being built in Brasil named S.P.O (Scol Practico pa

Ofishi), which used to be part of E.P.B. The participants of the focus group have all agreed that

they are happy with the new school being made and ready to open its doors in 2019 because it

would provide more opportunities for the young students who want to learn a profession and it

would reduce the transportation costs and hassle for the students of S.P.O who live in Brasil and

San Nicolas area but attend S.P.O. in Oranjestad.

Income and Employment

Regarding employment and income, a total of 1,049 of the population of Brasil is

economically active and a total of 150 is unemployed. Moreover 244 are students, 306 are

pensioners, 107 are housewives, and 57 are not employed because of health reasons according to

the census.

Housing

Brasil has 844 households according to the 2010 census meaning that today in 2018 that

could be more considering the growth of the Aruban population. From the 844 households, 736

are houses, 91 are apartments, 2 are rooms, 8 are trailers or containers, 5 are cuartos (small room

outside of the housing unit), and 2 are not represented in the mentioned list. The census was not


able to identify any homelessness in the neighborhood of Brasil nor condominiums as living unit.

Generally, the types of housings in Brasil are middle-class or average style family homes. The

census was also able to assess the number of housing units that were made 1950 and after 2005

to date. Through this finding we were able to observe how between 1990 and 1999 the number of

housing units grew with 367 units.

During the focus group interview, the local residents and participants shared that they

consider the living conditions in Brasil to be ‘regular’ and middle-class home units. Furthermore,

they indicated that the condition of the homes is good and not considered deplorable or in bad

condition.

Health

The community of Brasil falls under the district of San Nicolas North, which is

considered a low-density population area. This creates a demographic imbalance of available

healthcare practitioners and health care institutions for the community. In figure 1, one can see

the different general health care professionals and services available for the corresponding

districts (CBS, 2015). For emergencies the closest available medical center is IMSAN and all

other specialized professional practitioners are centered in the district of Noord at the other end

of the island.

Figure 1

Running Head: Community Assessment and Project Proposal

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Corresponding with the general population of Aruba, the increase of aging is also visible

in the district of Brasil. Other common health issues in the community reflect the same pattern as

the general population of Aruba, mainly; cardiovascular diseases, overweight and obesity and the

rise of mental illness due to aging. In addition, according to the Census conducted in 2010, there

is 57 persons with a disability living in the area of Brasil (CBS, 2010). See table 1.

Table 1.


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Furthermore, the overall health of the population of Brasil is not readily available due to a lack of

data. However, based on the general interpretation of the residences of Brasil, we can deduct that

the overall health status in Brasil is perceived as positive and overall healthy.

Involvement with Social Service Agencies

In the community of Brasil, Centro di Bario Brasil is the pillar or the backbone of the

community. CBB is known in the community as a neighborhood center where most community

activities are held. It is through this center that most Social Service Agencies carry out their

activities. It is the gathering point of the community and has been the most successful center of

all neighborhood centers in Aruba. All around Aruba, people come to Mens Erger Je Niet games,

bingo’s, cultural activities, soccer, baseball, Zumba and other activities.

One social service group that has been working in the community is Flor di Oriente, an

elderly social group which organizes different activities for the aging community around Aruba.

Another agency that works closely with CBB and the community is MOBIS. MOBIS organizes

different community focused activities such as healthy cooking classes, technology seminars and

several other activities to unite and develop the community. Other notable organizations in the

community are the Catholic Church of Brasil and the two elementary schools, Colegio Cristo

Rey and St. Michael School.


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Needs Assessment

Most communities around the world have their ups and their downs; to work on the down

parts it is crucial to know from the community itself what they think has room for improvement.

Even though Centro di Bario Brasil does its best to unify the community of Brasil through

events, games and educational seminars, the community of Brasil is still not completely unified.

To identify the needs of the community of Brasil, we created a focus group service with ten key

questions.

There are different needs of the community of Brasil that stood out throughout the two

group sessions. One of the needs is the social inclusion of the community members of Mabon in

the community activities with the rest of the neighborhood of Brasil, since Mabon is considered a

separate neighborhood even though it is a part of Brasil. According to the participants Mabon is

the disadvantaged residential area of Brasil, because it is usually troubled by a fair amount of

crime rate and has a reputation for being less safe than the other neighborhoods. As a result, the

community members of Mabon do not attend or participate in social and cultural activities of the

Bario di Brasil because they do not feel included or part of the neighborhood.

The second need next to the inclusion of Mabon, is to attempt to reduce the crime rate by

enforcing the law and maintaining criminal justice. Another need would be enhancing the bond

between the youth and the adults in the community. This became a need since the teenagers

expressed the lack of support they get from their parents and other adults at for example baseball

games; In contrast, the adults in the community also expressed the lack of support they get from

the teenagers in different occasions for example keeping the cultural tradition and/or teen

programs.


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Furthermore, the need to maintain the Centro di Bario Brasil; the soccer and baseball

field, the building etc. Next to this, the maintenance of the infrastructure also stood out in the

focus group sessions, Lastly, the involvement of Brasil’s own citizens would also be highly

appreciated since a lot of people visit Brasil and their activities but the community itself do not

show their support and interest.

Focus Group

A focus group was designed and conducted at Centro di Bario Brasil; which is the key

meeting point for many community members in the Bario of Brasil. A total of 15 community

members were approached and selected ranging from diverse ethnicity, age, and number of years

residency in the Bario of Brasil. Mr. Willems who is also a key person and leader of the Centro

di Bario di Brasil has helped us select and identify the participants for the focus group meeting.

In order to facilitate the availability of the participants two focus group sessions were assigned;

one in the morning and one in the evening at Centro di Bario Brasil.

The setting for the focus group was chosen at Centro di Bario Brasil because it is more

accessible and also a familiar meeting point for the participants which made them feel more at

home and comfortable. The questions that were asked in the focus group included: participants

general knowledge about the neighborhood, most valuable aspect of the neighborhood, personal

opinions regarding inclusion and exclusion, health, public safety, crime rate, economic status,

housing and living situations, availability of resources and participation.

Focus Group Questions

1. Brazil (edad, sexo, ethnic group): e bario

2. Kico ta valioso/importante pa abo encuanto e bario Brazil?

3. Bo ta sinti cu Brazil ta inclui of exclui di e comunidad di Aruba?


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4. Con den bo opinion e estado di salud ta encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?

5. Con den bo opinion e estado di vivienda ta encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?

6. Con den bo opinion e estado economico/financiero encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?

7. Tin algun fundacion of organisacion social activo den e Bario?

8. (if no) tin algun instancia ta yuda e Bario?

9. Con sigur (safe) bo ta sinti cu bo bario ta?

10. Kico ta un of mas aspecto positivo y of negativo di e bario di Brazil?


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Project Planning

Planning new emerging community projects are not easy to do or manage however, not

impossible to achieve. By assessing the community of Brasil, various needs came forward during

the organized focus group. These needs served as a major impact on taking an initiative in

purposely planning a community project that could enhance Bario di Brasil. In accordance to

what was shared during the focus group, Bario di Brasil is in need of an inclusive and supportive

community. This is because the youth within this community does not feel supported by the

community itself when participating in sport tournaments at the Centro di Bario Brasil.

In order to create a more inclusive and supportive community of Bario di Brasil, it was

important to start planning a project that could benefit the community as a whole. In this case,

Centro di Bario Brasil was the starting point of a social inclusive community. Meaning that this

new emerging project represents the implementation of Centro di Bario Brasil membership cards

or the Brasil Community Loyalty Membership. To further elaborate, each person who would like

to obtain such membership, must commit to participate and support the sport centrum’s

tournaments and other events. For each participation, members would obtain a token or stamp,

and by the end of the month Centro di Bario Brasil would benefit each member with the most

tokens with an incentive for example, a gift card, a box of Balashi/Chill, or free tickets to the

movies. However, it all depends on the income of the sport centrum itself to financially cover

every incentive and extra materials for the Centro di Bario Brasil.

Furthermore, to implement the Brasil Community Loyalty Membership, it was important

to visualize and specifically settle four main objectives and an action plan to fully achieve this.

These objectives were, to give support to the youth; motivate the community to be more active;

to create a sustainable income to support the sport centrum; and involving the community of


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Brasil in creating successful partnerships. In addition, in order to commit to and accomplish such

objectives, the resources needed included the sport materials and equipment, the renovation of

benches with shades, the promotion and marketing aspects, food and beverages to sell at the bar

and also the participation of volunteers or community leaders. After gathering these needed

resources (or inputs), it is important to contact companies that could possibly contribute with

donations, especially for the food (snacks) and beverages to start off by creating a sustainable

income method. By doing all the above-mentioned, the possibility of achieving at least 150

members may contribute to the expansion of the community of Brasil. Especially to the

development of collaboration, motivation, support, inclusivity and participation of all members

in Bario di Brasil.

This community project may take place within a time frame of 4 to 6 months (February -

July 2019) of preparation to fully complete each and every task already mentioned. The essence

of having a specific time frame encourages the planification and execution of the Brasil

Community Loyalty Membership towards a successful outcome. Meaning that by the end of July

2019, the community members of Brasil need to feel and have a sense of inclusiveness, the

younger generation as well as the older. Also, having a sustainable community with cost

effective programs and weekly activities to further enhance Brasil. And lastly, Centro di Bario

Brasil needs to be financially sustainable in terms of their monthly incomes to support such

activities. By committing to this community project, Bario di Brasil could expand and create

many other projects that could further enhance and benefit the community of Brasil as a whole.


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Logic Model

A logic model is a visual representation of how the project will be executed starting with

the project objectives, resources or outputs needed, assessment activities, the outputs of the

assessment, outcomes on short and long term, as well as the impact this would have. It is an

essential tool for planning and executing a project on a large scale. According to Kaplan and

Garret (2005) as cited from Midlands and Landcashire (2016) “A logic model is a graphic

display or map of the relationship between a program’s resources, activities and intended results,

which also identifies the program’s underlying theory and assumptions”. For this assessment and

execution if the logic model a main theme and topic was highlighted as part of the need’s

assessment.

Brasil Community Loyalty Program

After evaluating on the possibilities for assessing one specific need of the community of

Brasil, it was decided to implement a loyalty program in efforts to increase the participation and

inclusion of the different neighborhoods in Brasil. The following objectives were established in

order to implement the logic model for the community assessment:

1. To provide support for the youth of the community of Brasil

2. To motivate the community to be more active in the neighborhood of Brasil

3. To create and develop a sustainable financial income to support the sport centrum

4. To comply with SDG 3; ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages ,

SDG 11; make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable and

SDG 17; strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for

sustainable development, by supporting the youth, involving the community and creating

partnerships


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The idea behind the Loyalty Program is to engage and motivate community members of

Brasil to participate and attend social as well as sports events of the youth and as an incentive

make this into a point-reward system. After accumulating a number of points or stamps,

members are able to win prizes as well as feel more engaged and connected with other members

because of their continuous motivation to participate. Each objective was designed with the goal

of engaging community members from all neighborhoods of Brasil as well as creating a

sustainable project that can be done all year round.

Project Objective 1

The first objective of the logic model was ‘to provide support for the youth of the

community of Brasil’. This project is to be realized and achieved through sports materials,

equipment and benches as well as shades on the sports field. The youth who participated in the

focus group identified that they have a lack of materials and adequate sports field which as a

result make them use the facilities less often and the parents and community members attend less

sports events. The activities that were identified to achieve this object was to approach and

contact community leaders of CBB, contact sponsors for snacks and drinks and benches.

Furthermore, in order to keep track of the point system and make it a visible motivator

for community members, membership loyalty cards are to be printed and handed to all

community members for an equal chance of participating. The program output is set to reach 150

people and is a collaboration with local stakeholders as well as community volunteers from

CBB.

The intermediate output is to support the community by bringing community members

together, and contribute to youth development through participation and inclusion of all age

groups and diverse backgrounds. By having community members motivated and given an


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incentive to attend more social and sports events, especially of the youth of Brasil, the youth

would feel more supported and more included in the community cohesiveness. The long-

outcome for this objective is to create a sustainable community that includes and partners youth

with the older generation in Brasil. As a result, the impact of this idea would be to motivate the

community members in which they would get a sense of inclusiveness.

Project Objective 2

The second objective of the logic model was ‘to motivate the community to be more

active in the neighborhood of Brasil’. This is to be achieved through marketing, promotions, and

advocacy tactics. In the focus group it was identified that community members are not active and

engaged in the activities and sports events. In the focus group discussion, it was mentioned by

some participants that community members are not aware of the activities or events and therefore

might explain why they do not attend. One possible activity outcome was to create and maintain

an active social media page with information about activities of CBB, sports events, cultural

programs and any other event in the neighborhood of Brasil.

Furthermore, flyers about upcoming events and activities are to be distributed to the

community members, in order to keep members who are not on Facebook or familiar with social

media pages also informed of activities and events. As a result, the short-term outcome is to

motivate and engage community members on micro, mezzo and macro level using advocacy and

marketing techniques. The project outcome on a long-term base would be to initiate more cost-

effective programs and serve as an example for other neighborhoods and create a sense of

community involvement through marketing and branding of the activities that Brasil has to offer.

As a result, the impact of this objective and goal would be to have more participation and

inclusivity within the community of Brasil.


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Project Objective 3

Thirdly, the logic model objective was ‘to create and develop a sustainable financial

income to support the sport centrum’. Having community members volunteer their time and

efforts in making this a reality, they also accumulate points through the loyalty program. The

resources needed would be the food and beverage necessary to sell as fundraisers. Interested

community members are able to donate or sell snacks and beverages at a low cost as well as keep

the retired members active by being involved in the sports centrum income fundraisers.

Contacting businesses and organizations such as Don Pastechi, Tropical Bottling and

other local snack businesses to negotiate on a low price to sell snacks and drinks as a form of

income for the sports centrum. Furthermore, retired and interested community members are

approached at CBB where they can choose and share if they would like to donate any snacks,

food, and beverages to raise funds for the sports centrum. This not only creates a form of income

for the fundraiser but also create a sustainable and developmental way for elders of the

community to remain active and integrated in the community, even after retirement.

The output would be 100 snacks and 100 soft drinks per month (sold during activities and

sports events at the CBB). The outcome on a short-term level is to create a partnership and

network connection amongst the community members as well as to create and maintain a

sustainable community. On a long-term aspect, this aims to financially create a developed

community in which Brasil could sustain their own activities weekly for further enhancement of

the community and to provide financial sustainability to enhance the activity center at Centro di

Bario Brasil (CBB).


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Project Objective 4

The final logic model objective was ‘to comply with SDG 3, 11 and 17 by supporting the

youth, involving the community and creating partnerships with the resources from volunteers,

community leaders and outside organizations. One way to achieve this is by education

community members on what are the sustainable development goals and how the community of

Brasil could become the first neighborhood to be an SDG friendly community. The long-term

output is to enhance the engagement of volunteers and community leaders that could create and

sustain community activities to integrate each and every one in Brasil. Furthermore, the impact

of this would bring awareness and advocate for the health and well-being; partnerships with

social service agencies.

Having members take part in a global and national-wide initiative will increase feelings

of motivation, pride and engagement within community members of the Bario di Brasil.

Ideally all of the objectives as well as the project plan, includes the SDG guidelines in

order to keep and promote a sustainable environment for generations to come as well as

contribute to the overall sustainable development of Aruba.


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Community Work Models

Walking into a neighborhood and assuming the citizens have a problem and need

assistance could lead to resistance. According to Goodman, “Resistance stems from fear and

discomfort”, he also explains that people are unable to seriously engage in the material, would

refuse to consider alternative perspectives and resist information or experiences that may cause

them to question their worldview if they are resistant (Goodman 2011).

This means that the citizens that are used to one specific lifestyle routine that might be for

example from home to work and vice versa, would feel threatened if their rhythm would need to

change to include going to sport games. Another example could be someone who does not

believe that there is a lack of support in the Bario of Brasil, he or she would be resistant to the

idea of trying to better a relationship that was not bad in the first place.

Next to this, the use of language as a tool of empowerment can play a big role when

assessing a community. Teater explains that the social worker and the community jointly should

identify the community problems and come to an agreement on how to intervene. An example

could be the group session that was held with the members of the Bario of Brasil. He also

explains that the attributes motivation, problem-solving skills (consciousness raising and

cognitive restructuring), maintenance of psychological comfort, self-esteem and self-direction

should advise the community intervention and it should be connected to the community’s end

goal.

It is crucial to include Centro di Bario Brasil into the project planning, since they are the

main connection to get what is needed for the event. They have the location where the game


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could be taking place, they have contact with all the players, they have contact with the parents

of the players and they have contact with the rest of the community that also should attend to

show their support to the team. Centro di Bario Brasil also has planned events in the past, which

means they have a good amount of knowledge to provide and advises to give. They also have a

broader view of what the Bario of Brasil is more interested in and what could be used in order to

attract different age groups to the event, for example a certain music band they might like more

than others or a specific team to play against to make the game more interesting for the public.

The event will be taking part of building a better relationship between not only players

and their parents, but also between citizens of the Bario of Brasil. This way, it will help them

maintain a positive and supportive relationship for not only sport games but different events so

all group ages can support each other in their events of interests. Holding on to this supportive

attitude will help maintain a healthier bario of Brasil.


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Evaluation of Group Process

Working as a group to develop the community is a great way to learn, be social and

achieve goals quickly. However, sometimes it can be difficult and communication can be lost

and some may have to work harder than others. All these are part of group dynamics and we

certainly weren’t immune to this. By evaluating our working process together as a group we

were able to find some strengths and also weaknesses that we had to overcome in order to

finalize this project.

Strengths

As a group one of our strengths was independence, to be able to work individually on our

own after the tasks has been deliberated. For example, after making the group, each of us choose

a part to work on and set the due date. There was no need to meet at different locations or at a

certain time to work on the paper. For any questions a group-chat was created and one could

receive support when needed. Trust was also a strength of this group dynamic. We trusted each

other that the tasks assigned would be completed by the agreed due date. And that we would

meet at Centro di Bario Brasil in time to participate in the focus group sessions. In addition, trust

is two folded, because it was crucial to trust each other’s capacity that they could perform the

task at hand at best of their abilities. A third strength that was visible from the start was group

support. Support was given to each member in different ways as was necessary. For example,

when one member needed a ride to CBB, or when one member had to work and could not

participate in the surveys. Each time, one of the members could rely on the other for help when

needed. Likewise, when one member was stuck with their part of the task or when writing this

paper, she could call, or ask for support in the group chat.


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Weaknesses

The weaknesses were more difficult to identify because we did have a great time creating

this project. However, after careful evaluation, we did find some that were a group as well as an

individual learning moment. One weakness of the group was pace. Although we did trust each

other and had great support from each other, the pace at which each individual worked was not

taken into account. This means that not all group members would be able to work on the same

pace as the others and in other cases, the load of a task would be more difficult than expected or

was able to handle. Another area for improvement was the lack of coordination. As a group that

was able to work independent from each other, there was a lack of coordination, some of the

group members had different lifestyles or some had to work. This made it difficult to sit together

and be face to face to work on the project and make it cohesive. To tight this group dynamic all

together was the communication process. In our group we used different forms of

communication, via technology and also verbal, but sometimes there was a lack of clear

communication and other instances the communication was great. Thus, we would say that the

communication was a strength and at times also a weakness in our group.

Learning Outcomes

Working together on this assignment we learned community work on the macro level.

We learned that the community can be seen geographically, location wise or as a shared identity.

For example, Brasil is part of the broader part of Savaneta, but they are considered independent

and has great pride in that. In theory we learned about encountering the community, narrowing

the focus and mobilizing resources. With this assignment we practiced community encounter by

organizing the focus group sessions at CBB and ask questions about their identity and their sense

of community. We learned about their expectations and we were able to narrow the focus down


26

to youth empowerment and active community. By creating this project proposal, we try to

mobilize the resources found within the community of Brasil for a sustainable active

neighborhood. In addition, we learned about the history of the community of Brasil, different key

leaders in the community and the expectations of CBB.

We gained experience working together as a team and we discovered strengths and

weaknesses in ourselves and each other. This enabled us to overcome obstacles, prevent future

miscommunications and be supportive in various ways. The assignment inspired us to create a

sense of community within our own group. Furthermore, upon reflecting on this assignment, we

think that we could have done some things differently when approaching the community.

Although we did get feedback from a clear diverse group, we did not explore the broader

neighborhood beyond the CBB. We believe that further research could be done on the work

hours and time management of the community. There could be some connection between the

work hours and the reason why the community does not engage more in the activities at CBB.


27

Conclusion

The community of Brasil has all the components needed to contribute towards a better

and sustainable community. The community has a big contributor, which is an active Centro di

Bario Brasil that promotes homogeneity including the ideologies to achieved goals and needs to

foster toward their development. The community of Brasil can achieve a lot through the

mobilization of their own community members to raise awareness and support their development

with the allocation of resources in their community to create a sustainable environment.

In order to create a project proposal to meet the needs of the community of Brasil, it was

necessary to first identify the active community members and leaders. With this information we

were able to design a plan to mobilize the community to be active in events and to motivate the

youth to participate in community cultural activities.

In assessing the possibilities for a project proposal, it was necessary to involve the

community by collecting their ideas on how to improve their own neighborhood by means of a

small survey. In addition, we were able to identify the available resources that the community

already has, for example; available funding, materials to renovate the sport center and people

with trade skills.

Some project ideas included the strength and empowerment approach in order to motivate

the community through identification of the skills of the community members and rewarding

them for their participation. In conversation with some of the community members of Brasil, we

noticed that they are proud of their community and they value culture and history. Brasil being

one of the earliest communities of Aruba has been known for their activities and cultural parade

for many years now. There is sense of belonging and solidarity within the community and all of

this makes Brasil an example for all other neighborhoods of Aruba.


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The experiences that the group went through in Bario di Brasil exceeded the principle

expectations in regards to fully understanding this population from different key points such as

age, race, ethnicity, education, income, employment, housing, health, and involvement with

Social Service Agencies within the Bario di Brasil. Even though Bario di Brasil has been active

within the Aruban community, there are still various aspects that could be analyzed for further

improvements within the community.

Through the loyalty program, members of all ages and all neighborhoods of Brasil join

together, become more active and take pride in their neighborhood while in return continue to

give back. Lack of engagement in a community increases feelings of exclusion which may

contribute to the increasing crime rate and stereotype that was mentioned by the participants. The

community assessment not only addresses needs of a community, but also tackles nation-wide

social problems in the form of grassroot initiatives such as the loyalty program. It can be

concluded that the members of the community of Brasil have the inner motivation to keep the

neighborhood together and continue to take pride in their neighborhood. When members feel

included and supported especially the youth of Brasil, fewer social problems might emerge and

community cohesiveness continues to increase.


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References

Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba. (2010, September 29). Fifth Population and Housing Census

Aruba. Retrieved from http://cbs.aw/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Fifth-Population-

and-Housing-Census-Aruba.pdf

Goodman, D. (2011) Promoting Diversity and Social Justice: Educating people from

privileged groups, 2nd. NY: Routledge

Health Monitor Aruba. Ministry of Public Health and Sports. (2013) Retrieved from

http://cbs.aw/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Health-Monitor-2013.pdf

Irasquin. M. & Thiel. C. O. (2010). “Historia di Parokia”.

Freire. P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Retrieved from

http://commons.princeton.edu/inclusivepedagogy/wp-

content/uploads/sites/17/2016/07/freire_pedagogy_of_the_oppresed_ch2-3.pdf

Maduro. J. (1981). “Bario di Brazil”. Pagina di Antaño, pp. 9, 18-19.

Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., McMurtry, S. L. & Thomas, L. (2012). Social Work Macro

Practice. ISBN-13: 9780205895779

Teater, B. (2010). An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods, 2nd.

ISBN: 8601404711299

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